Analyzing Grammar Mistakes in College
Composition Classes

Kenlay Friesen and Peter Gray

Time: 2-4pm
Location: Hokkai Gakuen Daigaku
Building 6 (Subway Building), 3rd Floor, Room C-31

Abstract: During the 2008 academic year, Kenlay Friesen and Peter Gray analyzed the grammar and punctuation mistakes made by 20 second-year university students in their English Composition classes. Four essays by each student written throughout the year (April, July, Sept. and Dec) were analyzed in order to determine how often students made each type of mistake and how much the students did or did not improve throughout one year of instruction. This presentation will describe how this research project was set up, the difficulties and limitations of analyzing composition mistakes, the results of the research, and suggestions for improving how to teach English composition based on the research results and the teachers' classroom observations.

Biography: Peter Gray is a professor in the English Department of Hokusei Gakuen University. Originally from California, he has lived and taught in Japan for 27 years.